Anxiety about being denied entry into the country

[rainforestmimi]

Hello,

My partner and I are nevermets, hopefully that will not be the case much longer. He is hoping to come to my country (USA) from New Zealand. We are college-aged, mid-20s, both of us live with our parents. He is not unemployed but he is freelance/independent, so that is a factor. We are concerned about him being denied entry once he lands, and we know that never having met puts us at a disadvantage should he be questioned by border control/customs. He does pay rent to his mom so can have that documentation. Also he'd like to stay for a bit longer than a week or two--yes, we want to spend time together, but it's also a very long haul back to NZ and a short turnaround would be stressful.

Any ideas on how to decrease the chances of him being denied entry as much as possible?

[MorgsLily]

Hi! First of all...I'm crossing my fingers for you that you can schedule a meeting in person. How awesome that the borders are finally open!
I flew to the US to meet my fiancé there in January 2022. It was my fist time ever in the US and I was really stressed that they would deny me entry! I had proof for my income with me, return ticket was booked, I practiced what I would say when they questioned me.
We weren't nevermets anymore, since we managed for my fiancé to meet me in Germany in September 2021. I was still very nervous. Probably because I read too many horror stories about denied entry.

When I came up to the officer, I was already sweating. LOL
She asked me why I wanted to entry the country, so I told her that I was coming for a vacation of 3 weeks. I can't really remember how we came on to the topic, but she asked me about my fiancé (he wasn't officially my fiancé before that vacation, so I used the word boyfriend). What he was doing in the US (living there...duh...didn't say that of course). I mentioned that we met once before, but I don't think that made a big difference to her. She asked me again how long I would stay and I told her again that I'd stay 3 weeks. If she wanted to, I would've shown her my booking for my return ticket in my phone or my flight itinerary.
She came across pretty stern to me, but the whole talk maybe lasted 3 minutes and she then let me pass without further ado.

So I totally get your concerns. But well...I think you can find more horror stories than success stories about entering the US. So many tourists enter that country every year. And actually....that's what your partner is...he's not only your partner, but also a tourist which is totally normal! Of course to us long distance couples it means so much more. It isn't just vacation.
I think as long as he has a return flight booked and can proof that if he needs to and also takes whatever documents else he has (like documentation for rent), it should be ok.
I also don't think you can fully control this situation. If they wanna question him further, they will. But there's a pretty big chance that they won't and he will just be allowed into the country, like so many people every day!
I wouldn't have lied to the officer. I tried to answer the questions as short as possible, but truthfully.
She really asked just basic questions. She didn't want to see any documents. And she was definitely one of the sterner ones on that day from what I saw from the other booths.

Good luck to you both and let us know how it went! No risk, no fun. I hope you're no longer nevermets for long!!!!!

[autumn1790]

Is it possible for you to visit New Zealand? It appears your relationship is fairly new, but should you ever need to go through the US immigration process, having a refused entry can make it complicated. Not trying to be excessively negative but a young male without ties to a job, school, or apartment of his own might be looked at a bit harder than someone else..., Which I'm sure your aware of, hence the post. Best wishes!!